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Tybee Island legalizes drinking on beach, sidewalks

It might come as a surprise to residents and visitors that, until Thursday night, it has been illegal to drink an alcoholic beverage on Tybee Island’s beach.

As long as the beverage was not in a glass container — a $220 offence — and drinkers did not cause problems, beachgoers have been drinking beers and cocktails by the oceanfront for decades without an issue. That was only because the city was not enforcing a law that had been on the books since 1983 banning the practice.

“We always had a policy that was very liberal,” said City Manager Diane Schleicher.

On Thursday, the city council officially sanctioned imbibing in the sand by voting 4 to 2 to repeal the ban. The vote came after Police Chief Bob Bryson discovered the inconsistency while researching the ordinance, Schleicher said.

“Officers really like to have the ordinances fit the policy,” she said.

The amended ordinance also officially legalizes drinking on public streets, parking lots and sidewalks, which has also been historically permitted. The beverage has to be in a plastic cup, although the ordinance will need to be refined to make that clear, Schleicher said.

The policy is similar to the law governing drinking outdoors in downtown Savannah, although there is no limit on the cup size, said City Councilman Wanda Doyle.

Doyle, as well as Jan Fox, Bill Garbett and Paul Wolff, voted in support of the repeal, while Barry Brown and Tom Groover opposed it.

Wolff said it was important that Tybee follow its own laws. The other option would have been to start enforcing the ban, a move that would not likely go over well with the public, he said.

Bryson said he does not have an opinion on whether drinking should be permitted on the beach, although the summer heat and alcohol can sometimes be a bad combination. Dealing with belligerent drunks keeps his officers busy during the summer season.

“That’s our weekend,” Bryson said.

Brown said the reason he voted against the repeal was to give police more enforcement options than just throwing people in jail, in case they encountered someone drinking in excess. That’s the way it has been since the ban was approved, Brown said.

“I don’t have no problem with people drinking on the beach,” he said. “I do it myself.”